The Wizard, The Witch and Two Girls From Jersey

Title: The Wizard, The Witch and Two Girls From Jersey
Author: Lisa Papademetriou
Genre: Modern Fantasy

Summary:
This book tells the story of mortal enemies Veronica Lopez and Heather Simms. One day the two girls find themselves fighting over the last copy of Queen of Twilight in a local bookstore. When a pricing wand misfires, it sends the two girls straight into Chapter Two of the classic fantasy novel that they were fighting over. It takes them a moment to realize that they aren't in a New Jersey anymore. Unfortunately before they realize where they are, the two girls accidentally kill the book's heroine, Princess Arabelle, who is also "The One." In the Queen of Twilight only The One can restore light and peace to the land of Galma. Galma has long been under the rule of the evil Twilight Queen. Now it is up to Veronica and Heather to save the land of Galma from the Twilight Queen. Along the way they meet many memorable characters who offer them assistance in their quest. Will the two girls save the magical land of Galma? Will they ever figure out how to escape the pages of the novel? Read this book to find out what happens to the unlikely set of friends.

Making the Connection:
This book offers a great story that will keep your students laughing the whole time. The Wizard, the Witch, and the Two Girls From Jersey is perfect to read to your class when introducing modern fantasy. This book is also a great way to show your students how fantasies are written and that they too could write their own fantasy. Having your students write their own fantasy after reading this book would be a fun writing activity and a good way to assess whether they completely understand the concept of fantasy.

The BFG

Title: The BFG
Author: Roald Dahl
Illustrations: Quentin Blake
Genre: Modern Fantasy

Summary:
The BFG tells the story of a little girl named Sophie. The story begins one night when Sophie is having trouble sleeping. She decides to go look out one of the windows in her orphanage and then her world changes. Before Sophie is a giant! She watches the giant walk down the street and blow something into the windows he passes. Next the giant sees Sophie and kidnaps her. He takes her back to his cave where he explains that what she saw him doing was blowing dreams into the minds of children. He also goes on to tell her that he is the Big Friendly Giant (BFG) and is different than his fellow giants in many ways. For one he does not eat children. Read this book to find out more about the plan Sophie hatches with the BFG, involving dreams, the Queen of England, and stopping the other giants from eating anymore children.

Making the Connection:
This book is great to use when teaching students about context clues. The author utilizes many different nonsensical words in The BFG that can only be defined through the use of context clues. This book is also jam packed with similes, metaphors, and other figurative language; making this a great book to use when introducing these concepts to your class. An important chapter in this book is entitled Dreams. This chapter within itself could provide your class with fun lesson activities. For example you could have your students make their own recipe for a dream. Ask them to make a recipe for a dream. Students could set up their recipes like a cooking recipe with ingredients and mixing instructions. Students should also include a short description of the dream (which could be a "Golden Phizzwizard" or a "Trogglehumper"). When all of the recipes are finished, they could be made into a "Dream Recipe Cook Book". Another idea would be to have your students create a commercial for either Snozzcumbers or Frobscottle. Students would be expected to write a script for their commercial and produce it. This activity would also allow you to intergrate FLIP cams into your classroom.

Technology:
To add a different type of technology to this blog, I decided to make a Wordle for the BFG. I chose to focus on the first page of the Dreams chapter and below is the link to what I created.

The BFG Wordle

The Stories Julian Tells

Title: The Stories Julian Tells
Author: Ann Cameron
Illustrator: Ann Strugnell
Genre: Fiction

Summary:
This book is made up of six chapters and each chapter tells a story about a little boy named Julian. The first story describes the time that Julian's dad made the most perfect pudding. After finishing the pudding, Julian's dad asks Julian and his little brother Huey to guard it. If you finish this chapter you can figure out what goes wrong when Julian and Huey are on guard duty. Another chapter in the book describes the time when Julian convinced his younger brother the catalogs were magical books that when opened released a bunch of gardening cats. This book is a short read that is nothing short of comical. Read The Stories Julian Tells to find out what kind of trouble Julian's over active imagination gets him into.

Making the Connection:
This book is a great story to share with your students when you are trying to incorporate more chapter books in the classroom. This book also provides a lot of fun writing opportunities. For example after reading this story you could have your students write about one of their craziest childhood memories. You could also have your students pay close attention to the chapter when Julian describes making a wishing kite, and have them write about what they would wish for.

The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship

Title: The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship
Author: Arthur Ransome
Illustrator: Uri Shulevitz
Genre: Multicultural or International Literature

Summary:
The Caldecott winner tells the story of a couple who had three sons. The oldest two sons were very smart and were loved very much by their parents. The third son on the other hand was considered simpler than a child. One day the Czar declared that he would give his daughter's hand in marriage to the man who could bring him a flying ship. The two oldest brothers jumped at the opportunity to marry the Czar's daughter and with their parent's blessings, they set out into the world to figure out how to build a flying ship. The youngest son was not happy about being left at home, so he begged his parents to allow him to go. Annoyed by their simple son's constant pestering, the Fool's parents let me follow in his brother's footsteps. However the Fool went without his parent's blessings or any of the supplies that had graciously been provided for his older two brothers. Not long into his journey the Fool meets an old man. The old man is no ordinary person, he is actually a very wise being who is able to see that the Fool is not only a simpleton but a kind soul. Upon this realization, the old man tells the Fool how to obtain a flying ship. The old man only asks one thing of the Fool, and that is that the Fool has to give every person he meets a ride in the flying ship. Read this story to see if the Fool ever obtains a flying ship and if he marries the Czar's daughter.

Making the Connection:
This book is based off of an old Russian tale and would be a good story to include when talking to your class about multicultural or international literature. This book can also be considered a folk tale and could be used when covering traditional or folk tales in your class. A fun writing assignment for your class could be rewriting the story from the Princess' point of view. The Princess is never really considered during the whole story, so it would be neat to see what your students imagine she would think about her father being so mean, having to marry a stranger/or a fool, or just being a princess in general.

The Korean Cinderella

Title: The Korean Cinderella
Author: Shirley Climo
Illustrator: Ruth Heller

Summary:
This book tells the classic story of Cinderella with a Korean flare. In this version of the Cinderella story, the main character's name is Pear Blossom. Pear Blossom is an extraordinary beauty. When she was just a young girl her mother died and she was left solely in the care of her father. Uncertain of how to raise his daughter alone, Pear Blossom's father went to the village's matchmaker to find a new wife. His new wife however was cruel and had a daughter who was just as mean. Together they made Pear Blossom's life miserable. They made her work well before the sun came up and long after it went to sleep. They also hated Pear Blossom for her immense beauty, so they did all in their power to hide it. One day when her stepmother and stepsister were being especially cruel in choosing her chores, Pear Blossom received help from a magical frog. Pear Blossom was hesitant to accept the frogs help at fist because she believed him to be a tokgabi, which is a type of goblin. She eventually did accept his help and was able to complete the impossible task she had been given by her stepmother. This infuriated her stepmother and thus Pear Blossom was given another seemingly impossible task. To complete this task she received help from a bunch sparrows. Her completion of the second task just angered her stepmother further. Pear Blossom's stepmother continued to give her impossible tasks and with the help of some special animals, Pear Blossom was able to complete them. Read this story to find out what happens to Pear Blossom and how this story compares to the original tale of Cinderella.

Making the Connection:
Cinderella like many other popular stories has many different variations. Like the Scar-Face Girl, this book would be a great way to talk to students about comparing and contrasting. After reading this book you could have students identify what elements were the same among the different tales of Cinderella and which elements were different. This book also has a multicultural aspect that would be a great way to start discussions about literature from around the world.

Pink and Say

Title: Pink and Say
Author and Illustrator: Patrica Polacco
Genre: Historical Fiction

Summary:
This book is set against the back drop of the Civil War. The story is told through the point of view of a young white boy named Say. Say is an injured Union soldier who has been left behind and thinks he is going to die. Luckily however a boy his own age named Pink finds him and brings him to safety. Pink is the color of "polished mahogany" and unlike anyone Say has ever known. Pink brings Say to his mother's house where the are both able to heal, rest, and form a never ending friendship. During their time together Pink teaches Say many things and forever changes his life. He teaches him about bravery, friendship, and fighting for what you believe in. He even offers to teach him how to read one day. The boys decided to rejoin the war once they have fully recovered because they were putting Pink's mama, who lived in Confederate territory, in jeopardy. On the day of their departure however, marauders paid a visit to their house. Read this story to see what happens to these two young boys.

Making the Connection:
This is a powerful book (I personally cried) that will be loved by anyone who reads it. It is a terrific book to use if you are covering the Civil War in history. Before reading this book to your class it would be a good idea to have your students complete a KWL chart about the Civil War. When you do begin reading this book to your students, have them write down words or phrases from the story that they think describes the Civil War. After completing this book students can easily transition into conducting their own research of the Civil War. While doing their own research have students keep adding words and phrases to the list that they started when you initially read them Pink and Say. After your students have a long enough list, split them into groups where they will begin to compile an ABC book of the Civil War. Besides giving students insight to the Civil War, Pink and Say also sends a great message to students about the power of friendship.

Grandfather's Journey

Title: Grandfather's Journey
Author and Illustrator: Allen Say
Genre: Multicultural or International

Summary:
This Caldecott winner tells the story of a man from his grandson's eyes. The grandfather in this book was born and raised in Japan. He loved his home land very much but he longed to see the world. One day he left Japan and began his journey across the Pacific to North America. He explored North American by train, riverboat, and foot. He met many people and feel in love with the new world around him. He continuously traveled until one day his journey brought him to California. He had never seen any where so beautiful. It was in California that he decided to make his home. He traveled back to his homeland, Japan, where he married his childhood sweetheart. He then brought his new wife back to America where they had a daughter. He lived in California with his family until his daughter was completely grown. It was at this time that he could no longer cope with his home sickness. He decided it was time to show his daughter the place he and his wife had once called home. It was in Japan that his daughter got married and bore a son. The grandfather wanted more than anything to show his new grandson California. Unfortunately he was unable to do so because of the war going on in their country. The grandfather never got a chance to take his grandson to California. Years later the grandson finally traveled in his grandfather's foot steps to the new world. Like his grandfather, he finally understood what it was like to call two places home.

Making the Connection:
This story is a great window into two very different cultures. When discussing the similarities and differences between America and Japan during this time period, you might have your students practice utilizing graphic organizers (e.g. venn diagrams). Through the books illustrations readers are able to see what the world looked like in the 1930's and 1940's. The illustrations in this book would also be a good example to show students when discussing how pictures enhance a text. This book would also be an awesome way to make connections to your history unit, especially if you were discussing World War II in your class.